Author
Pietro Dandini - called Pier Dandini
Biography
(Florence 1646 - 1712)
Date
About 1690
Technique
Oil on canvas
Size
136 x 160 cm
Audioguide
Description:
The episode depicts the narrative in the Old Testament relating to the life of King Saul: the king, opposed to the profession of magic and divination, forbids these necromantic practices in his kingdom, but at the advance of the Philistines he will turn to a prophetess who will summon the ghost of Saul who will predict an ominous future.
The painting depicts the exact moment of the appearance of Israel's first king in a Rembrandt-inspired night scene. The painting of "sorceries" and occult scenes was particularly popular among the private patrons of the Florentine elite in the late seventeenth century, representing a suitable subject matter for salon conversations where these paintings were displayed.